Should I just give up on breastmilk for DD at nursery?

[Beveridge]

DD is almost 10 months and will not drink bottles of expressed milk at nursery. I work 3 days a week and send her in with the milk I express the day before but she won't look at it. She will, however, take bottles from her Dad and grandparents.

She does take water from a sippy cup there so they tried putting bmilk in that today but she wasn't fooled...

I don't know whether to keep sending milk in with her (and weep as it ends up down the sink)or just forget it and let her make up for it from me during the other 4 days of the week.

I would still express at work to keep my supply up and I suppose I could use it in DD's breakfast, etc. as well as freezing it. I just wondered if there was any point in persevering or if she's held out for this long, does this mean she's not going to change her mind?

Forgot to say this is her fifth week at nursery, and as a lazy bfing mother, I'm sick of the faff with the bottles!

My DS started at nursery at about 11 months and never drank milk (formula or bm) out of a cup or bottle when he first started. He made up for it before and after (and during the night ), and on the days he was not at nursery though.

She will be ok if you don't carry on with the expressed milk, so its up to you really if you want to carry on trying. Based on my experiences of pumping I probably wouldn't bother!

My DS will now drink cows milk quite happily from cups and has this at snack time at nursery, but he still breastfeeds too.

Thanks for that Yes, she has unrestricted access when we're at home so she probably will make up for it then.

Bit worried about plugged ducts as I got one when I first went back when DD rather unexpectedly slept through 2 nights in a row so I probably will keep pumping at work for the foreseeable.

Might try a different cup but I think if she's not entertaining it by next week I will officially throw in the towel and stop sending it in.

Have you tried the cups with a soft straw? This was the one I eventually had success with, and my nursery said this seemed to be the one that bf babies favoured for some reason.

Good grief Preggers, I didn't realise there was any kind of cup or bottle that we hadn't tried at some point in the last 9 months but it seems there is!

Will give this a go, haven't noticed these ones before. Thanks!

she doesnt need milk during the day for 3 days a week so i'd stop bothering sending it in/ add it instead to her breakfast etc as you mentioned then you'd still be keeping up your supply and she'd be getting the benefits. when my dd1 was 10 months old i went back to work 2 days a week and she (fully bf'd) had no milk during the hours i was away. she was/ is fine!

What about mixing the expressed breastmilk with wheatabix or a baby rusk?

Hi Beveridge,

I was in pretty much this position with my DS. He started nursery at 8 months and had been EBF till then. I started out pumping but found it harder and harder to get any, plus some days he would take it and some not. So at around 10 months I made a concession and got formula to take into nursery. However, I continued to BF him morning and night in the week and whenever required at weekends. I still do this, although it is now down to morning and night in the week and one extra feed on Sat and Sun - this is my strategy for getting him down then for a daytime nap .

My supply seems to have settled at this level now with no problems. I am very happy with this approach, as it avoids pumping at work, which was becoming increasingly frustrating and stressful, but I still get the am/pm bonding and DS gets the contined benefits of some BF alongside his daily diet - he's 14 months now. Each to their own, of course, but I don't now regret taking this route.

Once they are having a vaired diet, then it doesn't make a big difference if breastfeeding is supplemented with a small amount of formula. Its not as if formula is rats posion.

My DD started nursery at almost 10 mo for 3 days, and I started by sending in EBM. Like yours she refused the EBM.

After a few weeks I gave up, but I didn't bother with formula. She drank water quite happily at nursery and made up for the missed feeds when she was at home.

Ds was 11 months when he started nursery so I didn't bother sending bm or formula. He just had water or cows milk the three days he was there and bf at home.

I didn't express to replace any missed feeds and my supply was absolutely fine tbh. It just seemed to be there when he wanted it which at that age varied quite a lot depending on whether it was a nursery day, a day at home with me, if he was feeling under the weather etc.

By 12/13 months he was mainly just having bm first and last thing whatever day it was, but some days would want several feeds, and again the milk was there.

Thanks everyone, DD has always been such a boob monster that I couldn't imagine she would ever happily go a whole day without any bm!

I've noticed that she's less bothered about bfeeds on the days I'm not at work at the moment too so maybe she's just getting that bit more used to solids.